Rowena
Written on May 8, 2020
Magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake in this gripping novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series.
After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Kate and Curran know that separating from the Pack completely is a process that will take time.
But when they learn that their friend Eduardo has gone missing, Kate and Curran shift their focus to investigate his disappearance. As they dig further into the merc’s business, they discover that the Mercenary Guild has gone to hell and that Eduardo’s recent assignments are connected in the most sinister way…
An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece.
- ISBN10 0425270688
- ISBN13 9780425270684
- Publish Date 23 February 2016 (first published 4 August 2015)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Ace Books
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 384
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425270684
Reviews
funstm
Written on Jul 1, 2019
Yeah - read the rest of the series. It gets SO MUCH BETTER. Kate stops being standoffish and starts letting people in. Derek becomes a total badass. Ghastek - well he's still pretty creepy. But also funny and kind and sweet when he wants to be. And Curran - I love him now. He is an absolute ass in this first book. But I forgot. He becomes everything you want in a love interest. There's a ton of new loveable characters; Julie, Andrea, Aunt Bea, Raphael, Barbaras. Some new evil ones; Hugh, Roland. So much action and adventure and intensity and laughs.
So do yourself a favour. Keep reading.
I like that Barbaras and Derek all end up on the same street. And I like that Julie is more involved with the cases. The scene with Curran, Derek and Julie fighting ghouls and Kate freaking out and telling them to leave a note is funny. It's also nice that Curran finds something to occupy himself with (the Mercenary's Guild) - only Curran would find politics fun.
Mercy
Written on Dec 20, 2018
The ending of this one left me quite excited for Magic Binds though.
celinenyx
Written on Jan 6, 2018
Times are changing for our favourite power-couple Kate and Curran. Having left pack life behind, they moved to a nice suburban neighbourhood. Though perhaps a were-lion is not the kind of neighbour the humans signed up for... When a pack member goes missing, Kate and Curran are faced with an enemy they haven't encountered before - and it's getting stronger every day.
After a book that made some huge steps in the overall story arc of the series, Magic Shifts is a slight return to the monster-of-the-week format. Although the various treads get attention - especially Kate's relationship with her father continues to fascinate - Magic Shifts introduces a rather typical mystery-action-adventure of the kind series readers will recognize from the earlier books. I was glad for this break, allowing some more character growth as roles and relationships change. Events in Magic Shifts illustrate how far Kate has come. Gone is the solitary mercenary, as she has gained responsibility not only for people she loves, but also Atlanta as a whole as she claimed the city.
The loving and stable relationship between Kate and Curran is continued in this book, which makes me terribly happy. It's great to have an established couple as heroes, rather than being in perpetual will-they-won't-they limbo. They will, and they do, and they're awesome together.
Without saying too much about the mystery in Magic Shifts, it draws from Egyptian, Middle-Eastern and Islamic mythology and tradition. These books have been great in highlighting mythologies beyond the Anglo-Saxon, and this was no exception. I will leave the judging the accuracy of representation to actual Muslim readers - it is not my place. The portrayal of the Muslim characters however was sympathetic and complex.
Another great book in the Kate Daniels series. It's great to see Kate and her family come together through adversary. As always, I am looking forward to another volume of witty and snappy prose and sword-wielding adventure.
Cocktails and Books
Written on Aug 10, 2017
EBookObsessed
Written on Aug 24, 2016
Find out who the newest bad guy in town isn’t the only problem that Kate and Curran have. Curran may no longer be the Beast Lord but most of his assets are tied up in the pack’s investments so they are finding finances a little tight and guarding Atlanta doesn’t come with a paycheck. The pack doesn’t exactly want to cash in their business assets to pay off Curran so they offer him the pack’s interest in The Guild. It’s not worth everything the pack owes Curran, especially not once Curran and Kate find out that the powers that be are trying to cash out of the Guild themselves, the Mercs haven’t been paid for a while, and the Clerk, who kept the whole place running, was let go and the Guild is just days from collapsing. If Kate and Curran take the pack’s shares, they are going to have to rebuild the Guild and quickly before this sinking ship hits rock bottom, and then their only asset will have no value.
There are several close member of the pack who have separated with Curran and Kate, such as Derick, and others like Jezabel who have not. While this story lacks the excitement of Book 7, it is an important story to set up the new dynamics outside of the pack, as well as how the pack will react to Curran and Kate under Jim’s Beast Lordship.
Book 8 is very important to set up the new world that is Kate and Curran and how life outside the pack will be from now on. Andrea is Kate’s best friend but also the new alpha of Clan Bouda since Aunt B died. Will Andrea’s loyalty be split or will pack have to come before friendship? We need to hammer out all this information before the series goes forward.
Meanwhile, Roland keeps in touch hoping to play Daddy to Kate, and welcoming Curran and Julia into the family. He’s excited for the upcoming wedding and is so excited to be part of Kate’s life, but they know there just has to be some deeper, darker plan behind Roland’s sudden excitement to find the daughter he tried to kill before she was born. Again, where does Roland fit into everything that is happening to Kate and Curran? He says he sent Hugh d’Ambray away as punishment for what he did to Kate, but did he really? Hugh has been Roland’s warlord since Voron left, is he so willing to throw him away over Kate?
Kate can’t go to the witches for help since they are pissed off at Kate. Kate was supposed to keep Roland from claiming Atlanta, not take it for herself. They have important information about Kate’s future but they don’t want to give it to her. A psychic flash will give Kate the answer to what the witches have been hiding as well as Roland’s ultimate goal and will be another turning point leading us into Book 9.
Don’t get me wrong. Even a slow Kate Daniels book is full of fighting, paranormals and magic. It is great storytelling. It is just after the big bang of Book 7, the attack from Hugh, the meeting of Roland and the separation of Curran and Kate from the pack; here in Book 8, learning that Kate and Curran are having problems with the HOA of their new neighborhood and that Curran in his lion form scares the poop out of the mailman, while funny, it is not on the same level as the prior book.
The goods news is once we finish Magic Shifts and know the new rules of life for Kate and Curran, the level of excitement quickly shoots back up for Book 9, Magic Binds.
MurderByDeath
Written on Mar 24, 2016
Well, that ending wasn't what I expected. Somewhere in the last year I got the idea that something happened to one of the characters and I went through this whole book waiting for it, braced for it. And it didn't happen. This is good, because what I'd braced for was bad, so it was like the book ended with an extra special cherry on top.
Is it wrong that I liked the scenes with Roland? The verbal sparring, the sly repartee and dry humour - they just ended up being my favourite scenes in the book.
The Andrews' continue to mine mythology for story lines and it keeps the stories fresh and interesting. Moving out of the keep stops the clan politics from taking over the books as they'd threatened to do and I'm looking forward to seeing where all the changes end up.
My only worry at this point is this: you can only hold a threat over someone's head of doom for so long before it loses its power and impact. This holds true for the reader as well and no matter how good the writing is, the anticipation is going to wear thin.
But then again, I've heard this series might be in the home stretch; if that's true, I have nothing to worry about except having to say goodbye to these characters, and that's going to be a sad, sad day. Until then, bring on more Kate and Curran! (*cough*roland*cough*)
layawaydragon
Written on Mar 4, 2016
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Aug 23, 2015
“No. Not my circus, not my undead monkeys.”
Once again, I slipped right into the world. I was anxious to see how Kate and Curran were adjusting to their recent changes. You would think that life might be a little quieter. Pfft. Nope. This is Kate and life is never dull. I wondered how Gordon and Ilona were going to keep the same intensity and keep Kate and Curran’s relationship fresh without a bunch of drama like the tiffs we have previously endured. I should not have worried. This writing team is brilliant. All the changes in Magic Shifts were for the good and I am over the moon excited. They breathed new life into this series allowing for endless story scenarios. Oh yes, there are threats and darkness in our future.
“Try to look casual.” I pulled the top book out and put it on the desk.
“Why?”
“Because what I’m doing is illegal without a warrant, and we have about twenty witnesses observing our every move.”
Curran crossed his arms, making his biceps bulge, leaned against the desk, and fixed our audience with his stare. Everyone spontaneously decided to look anywhere else but at us. Right. Casual, my foot.
“See,” he said. “No witnesses.”
As always, there are several different threads to keep us listening and abandoning reality. A case involving a missing person has us battling a new threat. The Andrews tackle Arabian mythology and reanimated metamorphosis. I am talking freaky folks and oh lord they gave me the shivers. The creatures are dark; the battles are gritty and ironically as beautiful as they are dark. No detail is wasted creating a three-D image of the scenes in my mind. Oh and Daddy makes an appearance because Kate’s life is not stressful enough. Poor Kate takes a beating and gets herself into some serious trouble pushing her to accept she cannot always be in the thick of things. I love that she is continually growing and evolving.
“DOES EVERYBODY THINK I am an asshole?” Curran asked. “Only people who know you or have met you.”
Despite the changes, we see many of the characters we have come to love as they step into new roles. While in many ways, Magic Shifts could be viewed as a bridge book it still delivered the quality and richness we have come to expect from this writing duo. Brilliant with humor, character growth, interesting developments and tantalizing teasers of things to come. I was completely blown away. I laughed allowed, screamed and became fully engaged in listening.
Audio provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
mitabird
Written on Aug 22, 2015
Original Rating: 8/15 - 5 stars